The Oakland Athletics have been known for their abundance of pitching for well over a decade now. What started as the Big 3 with Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and Barry Zito has morphed into many forms throughout the years. One player that has flown under-the-radar for years (six to be exact) has been Nate Long, currently on the Nashville Sounds, Oakland’s Triple-A affiliate.
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On Wednesday night Long gained a personal triumph, and he did so in emphatic fashion, gaining his first win at the Triple-A level since being drafted in the 23rd round of the 2009 MLB Draft by the A’s. In 2012, Long pitched a grand total of one inning with the A’s former Triple-A affiliate, the Sacramento River Cats, lasting just one inning and allowing five runs on four hits and two walks. The 29 year old Fort Worth native had to wait until April of this year to get a chance to redeem himself, but didn’t fare much better. The righty lasted just 4 2/3 innings, giving up four earned on seven hits and a walk while striking out six.
Entering play on Wednesday, Long’s ERA sat at 7.71 with Nashville this season and his win column was oh-so lonely. With Double-A Midland this season, Long posted a 5-4 record with a 3.13 ERA, earning him a spot on the Texas League All-Star team, but Long had to skip the game on Tuesday night so that he could fly to Nashville to pitch on Wednesday.
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Well, as you’ve guessed by the title of this piece, he pitched well enough to earn the victory. What you may not be expecting is that he went seven innings and allowed just two hits and a walk to earn the 2-0 win for his team. Arnold Leon pitched a perfect eighth inning, striking out two, and Ryan Cook brought the go-ahead run to the plate, but escaped the first and third jam on a fly out to end the game.
Nashville’s All-Star Jason Pridie went 1-for-3 with a rbi while recent addition Jake Smolinski also went 1-for-3, with a two-out rbi double in the fourth.
Entering play on Wednesday, Nate Long’s career record in the minors was 41-31 and he held a 3.86 ERA. He had totaled 622 2/3 innings pitched and had faced 2,681 batters in the minors, making last night’s win that much more sweet because of the road he took to earn it.